


The Curse of Knowledge

by Starry_Stark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Battle of New York, Gen, Infinity War spoilers, Thanos has quite literally been in Tony's mind, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, Tony Stark has PTSD, he knew the aliens were coming but nobody listened lmao, mentions of voices in head
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 21:37:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14941826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starry_Stark/pseuds/Starry_Stark
Summary: Thanos has been in Tony's mind for years.





	The Curse of Knowledge

There was someone in his head. A grotesque, ominous presence festering in the corner of Tony's mind had taken root ever since the Battle of New York. When Tony had opened his eyes to the Hulk's deafening roar, he knew something was horrifically wrong.

Part of his mind wasn't his own.

Tony could hear another's thoughts. A titan determined to cull the universes population to 'save' resources. He wasn't scared to kill or to torture; the titan just had the one goal in mind. To gather the most powerful objects scattered across the expanse of the universe.

Yet, Tony didn't know what they were. What he saw from this titan was quick flashes of memories or possibly events that were happening right now. It would hit Tony like a tonne of bricks; no warning. It would leave him shaking, desperately gasping to pull air into his lungs as sweat trickled down his forehead. Flashes of barren planets littered with the corpses of innocents as the titan ploughed through civilisations assaulted his mind, as if it were no longer his own. Sometimes these visions were so powerful, filled with raw emotion that Tony's knees buckled as he fell to the floor, scratching at his forehead in agony. Headaches would linger for days afterwards, his human mind unable to cope with the stress of something so alien.

Sleep became more of an enemy than it had been before. Tony had always been a functioning insomniac, surviving on too little sleep and too many nightmares, but what he now saw -experienced in his dreams were enough to keep him awake forever. The mad titan mowed through populations as if he were simply cutting the grass and he gave out kill orders with a startling ease. Tony couldn't even feel any guilt from the titan's conscience.

But Tony was weighed down by the guilt and grief he carried from the nightly visions. He lived through the bloody massacres, the blood-curdling screams, and the gut-wrenching cries, unable to do a single thing to help.

What made matters worse was Tony had to watch all of this through the titan's eyes. As if he himself was committing the atrocious acts. His soul was permanently tainted by the otherworldly wars he had been forced to witness.

Of course, Tony was not ignorant to the fact that voices in his head was probably not the best sign, but he also knew that what was happening was not anything anyone would've seen before. He'd catch glimpses of the titans face in the barrage of images that snaked through his mind. It was definitely not human.

He still seeked help on the insistence of Pepper and Rhodey, yet all the medication in the world could not remove what was in his mind. It was something untouchable, unknown, and completely alien.

So Tony suffered in agony, frantically preparing for a war he knew was imminent whilst everyone around him lived in blissful ignorance, content to write his warnings off as PTSD. There were moments Tony himself doubted the realness of the supposed alien in his head, but by God did that disbelief vanish when the visions overtook his mind. It was horrifically unworldly.

And when Tony finally came face to face with the mad titan, Thanos, six years later his mind screamed. The corner of his mind where the mad titan resided scorched his mind as it tried to return to Thanos, the suddenly, Tony's purpose in life was realised.

The only way to get rid of his curse was to kill Thanos.

**Author's Note:**

> lmao this is so short
> 
> this is sort of inspired by harry potter and voldemort's mind connection?? i mean obviously no horcrux but i do find it really interesting that there's potential for something like this even tho i think it was meant more metaphorically
> 
> i'm thinking about expanding on this as in this tony is also in thanos' mind which isn't addressed
> 
> hope you like it lmao :)


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